Authorities in Beltsville, Maryland had concrete evidence in hand following a shooting at a strip mall. That’s because the unknown shooter was caught by video surveillance cameras. The video evidence footage clearly shows him in the act of firing shots at several people outside a Beltsville strip mall.
Officers responded to reports of the incident at around 1:20 a.m.. The police reports indicate that the suspect got out of a blue four-door sedan and opened fire at a group of men. Amazingly, no one was injured in the shooting. However, the incident left a negative impression on the community.
Locals who patronize the nearby shopping center on Cherry Hill Road commented that they hadn’t ever imagined something like this happening in the area since it’s, as they said, “a nice neighborhood.” And the shopping center is only 100 yards away from the strip mall, scene of the shooting.
The video evidence, however, leaves no doubt that the shooting did happen. It clearly captures the suspect walking down the right side of the screen and then opening fire. He appears to fire at least five shots as some of the people run away. The video actually captures even the flash of the gunfire. That no one was hit seems almost miraculous. The would-be assailant got away; victims ran from the scene.
Fortunately, the video evidence remained.
Prince George’s County Police, concerned and eager to apprehend the man who opened fire into a crowd, were grateful that the surveillance video could facilitate their search. They released that video and appealed to the public in the hope that it would lead to the perpetrator’s identification. His mannerisms, his movement or any idiosyncrasy could matter, and could be the identifying feature to close the case.
Regular customers at the major shopping center near the site of the shooting expressed concern about the incident. And they questioned their previous assessment that the area was as safe as they had once considered it.
This strip mall is not a client of Stealth Monitoring. Video evidence alone is insufficient to catch most criminals. Stealth provides a superior security solution with proactive live surveillance that can detect and deter crime for greater security while reducing security guard and other expenses. A Stealth operator could have seen unusual activity like the shooting, activated an audible warning to deter the shooter, and called the local police while the crime was in progress.
Please contact Stealth today for more information to protect your shopping mall. Visit our web site to see actual videos of criminals being apprehended at shopping centers, as well as other businesses.
